Latch hook device



United States Patent Inventor Appl. No.

Filed Patented Assignee Eugene Thomas Barker La Porte, Indiana Jan. 2 l, 1969 Nov. 24, 1970 The Boye Needle Company Chicago, Illinois a corporation of Illinois LATCH HOOK DEVICE 6 Claims, 8 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl

Int. Cl Field of Search 81/15]; 223/104 D0Sc 15/06 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,000,168 8/1911 Glanz 81/15.7 2,286,578 6/1942 Sauter 128/340 FOREIGN PATENTS 27,966 of 1903 Great Britain 112/80 612,465 11/1948 Great Britain 223/104 Primary Examiner-H. Hampton Hunter AttorneyDaw son, Tilton, Fallon & Lungmus ABSTRACT: A latch hook device for knotting yarn strands to a canvas mesh in making no frame latch rugs is characterized by a yarn loop holding means, which may hold one or a plurality of yarn loops, while the latch hook is being threaded through the mesh, the yarn loops being separately removable from the holding means for insertion in and knotting by the latch hook.

Patented Nov. 24, 1970 Sheet FIG.|

ATT' YS Patented Nov. 24, 1970 Sheet FIG? 7 IN VliN'lUR: EUGENE T. BAR KER ATT'YS LATCH HOOK DEVICE BACKGROUND In the hand manufacture of latch rugs, short strands of yarn are attached to a support mesh called a canvas. The method of attachment is to knot a loop of yarn horizontal threads of the canvas, usually to two weft threads, Various tools can be used to assist this knotting operation, but the most popular is the socalled latch (or latchet) hook. The latch hook has been widely used in the United States and in other countries since at least the 1930s. and continues to be the most popular tool for the hand working oflatch rugs.

In latch hooking no frame is used for the canvas. Instead the rug is worked in the lap or on a table. The canvas or support backing must be strong and durable, and although of open mesh construction (3 to 4 meshes per inch) is stiff and requires hand manipulation during the threading of the latch hook through themeshesln the insertion or threading step, the hook is open and with yarn around the shank being held together with the gripping of the handle by one hand, is pushed down through one of the meshes of the canvas under two horizontal threads, and up through the mesh above. A bending or pushing of the mesh with one hand (usually the left hand) while manipulating the'latch hook with the other assists the process. The latch is kept open during the insertion process until it moves past the threads to which the yarn loop is to be knotted. Then, on withdrawal of the hook, the latch will automatically close, and the knotting of the yarn loop will be accomplished; providing the yarn loop is in proper'position around the shank of the hook between the latch and the handle, and the free ends of the loop are passed through the hook and secured therein by the closing of the latch as the hook is withdrawn. In performing these sequences of operations, the problem has been to hold the'yarn loop in a readily available position around the shank of the hook while it is being threaded and at the same time manipulate the mesh for the insertion of the hook. While skill can be acquired if the person has sufficient natural hand and finger dexterity, many persons have great difficulty in carrying out the required manipulations of the latch hook, the canvas, and the yarn loop, The

latch hooking of rugs has therefore appeared tedious and not very enjoyable to many people and even persons highly skilled in this art encounter difficulty in repeatedly and rapidly performing the required steps of the operation. For example, if the yarn is not placed completely inside the hook when the latch closes, the end ofthe hook can snag or split the yarn.

Another related problem is that before each threading of the hook a new strand or length of yarn 'must be picked up and looped around the shank of the hook with the free ends held in approximately even position. As will be appreciated, it is very difficult to continue to hold the ends of the yarn in correct position with the left hand, for example, while the right hand is threading the tool, and at the sametime manipulate the canvas to assist the threading operation. It must be remembered that the canvas is not stretched in a frame, but is in the lap or on the table, and therefore the hand holding the yarn loop must be used at least to some extent to hold and manipulate the canvas. It is understandable therefore that people in carrying out the process have at times felt they-needed an extra hand.

Sinceno one heretofore has .provided a means for improving the latch hook, other alternative devices have been developed which are easier to operate. However, such alternative tools have been more complicated and expensive, and they may require a special canvas or auxiliary equipment such as a frame to hold the rug while it is being worked. The present invention therefore seeks to improve the latch hook so as to substantially overcome the problems and difficulties described above.

SUMMARY In accordance with the present invention, a yarn loop holding means is provided in combination with a latch hook to provide a greatly improved latch hook device for knotting yarn device rearwardly of the latch hook and includes means for gripping and releasably holding the projecting free end portions of at least one strand of yarn in loop relation to the shank and handle. With this combination, one hand of the user is freed to assist the threading of the latch-closable hook through the mesh while the yarn loop is instantly available for sliding forwardly along the shank for insertion in and knotting by the hook. In a preferred embodiment, the yarn holding means is constructed so that it is capable of simultaneously holding a plurality oflooped lengths of yarn. The yarn loops are held so that they are releasable one at a time for sliding forwardly along the shank. with this construction, the device can be used to sequentially knot a plurality of yarn loops to the mesh without reloading the yarn holder. It has been found that this greatly improves the efficiency of the yarn knotting process.

DRAWINGS The improved latch hook device is shown in illustrative embodiments in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a straight shank latch hook equipped with the yarn holding means; FIG. 2 is a top view of the same latch hook device;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view illustrating yarn loops being inserted in the yarn holder;

FIG. 4isa side elevational view ofa bent shank latch hook equipped with the yarn holding means; and

FIGS. 5 to 8 are stepwise illustrations of how the knotting process is performed with the improved latch hook device of this invention.

' DETAILED DESCRIPTION hand. The handle may be formed of wood or plastic or other suitable material. The forwardly extending portion -12 of the handle is provided with a central bore into which the rearward end portion of shank 13 is inserted. End portion 12 may be reduced at shoulder 14 and capped with a metal ferrule 15 to strengthen the end of the handle and assist in retaining shank 13.

Shank 13, which may be formed of a suitable metal such as steel, tapers at its forward end to provide a hook 16. Hook 16 may be integrally formed with the shank 13 or rigidly connected thereto. The hook 16 which is'at the forward end of the elongated shank 13 is reversely curved and provides a rearwardly facing entrance 17. A latch 18 in the form of a finger away from the outer end 21 of hook 16. Preferably, the outer end 22 of latch finger 18 is shaped to securely cover hook end 21 when resting there against, and thereby protecting the hook end by at least slightly overlapping it.

In FIG. 1, latch finger 18 is shown in its rearwardly position, butit will be understood that in its forward position it will close the hook entrance 17.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the yarn loop holding means is designated generally by the number23. While the holding means may be mounted rearwardly of the latch hook on the shank 13 or handle 11, it has been found convenient to mount the holding means on the forward portion 12 of the handle, or more specifically on the ferrule 15 with the forward portion of the holder, as shown, extending around and enclosing the rearward portion of shank 13. In this connection, reference should also be made to FIG. 3.

relation to shank l3 and handle 11. In the embodiment shown and preferably, yarn holder 23 provides a V-slot portion 24 with its mouth in alignment with shank 13, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, for receiving the free ends of the yarn loop. Rearwardly of V-slot portion 24, the holder 23 provides closely spaced sides 25, 26 which releasably grip the free ends ofa yarn loop L1, as shown in FIG. 3. In FIG. 3, a second yarn loop L2, has been looped around shank l3 and is being moved into the forward portion of holder 23, which portion is spaced from shank 13 as shown. The free ends of loop L2 can be pulled back into V-slot 24 to be releasably gripped by sides 25, 26, and this process can be continued until several yarn loops are held rearwardly of the V-slot for individual removal therefrom, as will subsequently be described.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the tool fabrication arts that the yarn holder 23 can be formed in many different ways and ofdifferent materials. In the illustration given, holder 23 is formed from a single piece of steel with the mouth portion being flared and the sides 25, 26 being rolled outwardly for smooth contact with the yarn. With the construction shown, the holder 23 can be received on ferrule with a snug frictiontight fit. In addition, cooperating dctents 27 and 28 can he provided respectively in the rearward portion of the holder and in the ferrule 15, the holder snapping onto the ferrule with a slight spring action. Preferably, as shown, the detents 27, 28 are provided in oppositely disposed pairs for secure attachment of the holder. It will be understood that holder 23 may be mounted in other ways on handle 10 and/or on shank l3, and that the holder may be molded from plastic. If desired, as shown, to facilitate the entrance of the yarn to the V-slot 24 its mouth may be provided with forwardly and outwardly extending guide flanges 29, 30. By elongating the V-slot portion 24 and particularly the gripping sides 25, 26, the V-slot can be made to hold an increased number of yarn loops, but usually a yarn holding capacity in the range of 3 to 6 loops will be most advantageous.

The modified device shown in FIG. 4 is substantially identical to the latch hook device already described, except that the shank is bent. Corresponding parts ofthe embodiment of FIG. 4 are therefore given the same numbers, except that the numbers are primed. The shank I3 is bent or crooked at 13a. This construction has the advantage of providing greater clearance between the handle [0' and the canvas mesh as the rug is being worked. More specifically, with the hand gripping handle 10' the threading and withdrawal operations of the tool can be performed while the knuckles and fingers of the user avoid scraping along the surface of the canvas, which may be somewhat rough and irritating to the hands. It will be apparent that the yarn holding means 23 can also be advantageously employed with a bent shank latch hook.

OPERATION The operation of the latch hook device ofthis invention is illustrated in FIGS. 5 to 8. FIG. 5 shows the holder 23 of the latch hook device loaded with three yarn loops, designated respectively Ll, L2, and L3. The canvas mesh M is shown being held with the fingers of the left hand, and it will be understood that the person using the device is holding the handle 10 with his right hand, although this is not shown. With the latch 18 open, the hook 16 is maneuvered under a pair of threads T, the shank 13 passing into the mesh space immediately below the threads and out of the mesh space immediately above. When the threading is completed, the latch hook will appear in relation to the canvas C as shown in FIG. 6. At that point. the forward most yarn loop, in this case loop L3, is grasped at its projecting ends with the fingers of the left hand, and moved forwardly along the shank 13, as illustrated in FIG. 6. In the next step, the free ends ofthe loop are passed into the hook 16 through the entrance 17, as shown in FIG. 7.

When the ends of the loop have been fully inserted in the hook, the handle 10 is withdrawn, which closes the latch 18 over the yarn. Continued withdrawal passes the closed latch and book under the threads T pulling the yarn ends through the loop portion, and forming the knot K, as shown in FIG. 8. The process is then repeated by moving in one direction or the other along the threads T to the next adjacent mesh spaces, and the next loop, such as the loop L2, is knotted onto the threads. Normally, the supply of loops in the holder 23 would be used up by a repetition of the knotting procedure before the holder is reloaded. Then the holder 23 can be charged with a supply of additional loops, which are precut or purchased in cut lengths, and the color varied as required by the design being worked into the rug. As can be seen, the combination of the holder 23 with the latch hook achieves a great improvement in the efficiency of the operation. One hand of the user is free to assist the threading of the book through the mesh while the yarn loop is instantly available for sliding forwardly along the shank of the hook for insertion in and knotting by the hook. A still further increase in efficiency of the process is obtained where a plurality of loops are carried in the holder, and are knotted in sequence.

Iclaim:

1. In combination with a latch hook device for knotting yarn strands toa canvas mesh, said device having a rearward handgrip providing handle, a forward book, a pivotal latch for closing said hook, and a threading shank extending therebetween, yarn loop holding means mounted on said device rearwardly of said latch hook for gripping and releasably holding the projecting free end portions of at least one strand of yarn in looped relation to said shank and handle, said yarn loop holding means providing a V-slot portion with its mouth in alignment with said shank for receiving the free ends of said yarn loop, and rearwardly of said mouth providing sides closely spaced for releasably gripping said loop free ends, whereby one hand of the user is freed to assist the threading of the latch-closable book through said mesh while said yarn loop is instantly available for sliding forwardly along said shank for insertion in and knotting by said hook.

2. The combination of claim I in which the said sides are elongated, being dimensioned so as to be capable of simultaneously holding a plurality of said yarn loops for sequential release and knotting.

3. The improved latch hook device of claitn l in which said yarn loop holding means is formed of an integral metal strip and is mounted on the forward end portion of said handle.

4. The improved latch hook device of claim 1 in which said yarn loop holding means provides a forwardly extending mouth portion encircling the rearward portion of said shank while being spaced therefrom to permit yarn loops to slide into and out of said mouth portion on said rearward shank portion.

5. In combination with a latch hook device having a rearward hand-grip providing handle, a forward hook, a pivotal latch for closing said hook, and a threading shank extending therebetween, yarn loop holding means mounted on said device adjacent the juncture between the forward end of said handle and the rearward end of said shank, said means including means for gripping and releasably holding the projecting free end portions of at least one strand of yarn in looped relation to said shank and handle, said yarn loop holder being formed of an integral metal strip and providing a V-slot portion for insertion of the yarn loop ends, said V-slot portion merging smoothly with closely spaced side portions comprising said means for gripping and releasably holding the said projecting free endportions ofsaid yarn loop.

6. The combination of claim 5 in which said gripping and holding means is elongated and the said closely spaced sides thereof are capable of simultaneously holding at least three of said yarn loops for sequential release and knotting. 

